Contrast

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Work brought me to Qatar this past week.  It was warm (60 degF), sunny, sandy and blessed with blue Persian Gulf waters.

It was a long trip home.  Uncomfortable aircraft seats, long days, lack of sleep.  It was great to get home to the river house and sleep in my own bed.  I enjoy travel, but always look forward to getting back home.  The contrast of place and culture seems to give me reason to ponder what I value.

For me, the quite places by the river are where I find my energy.

It has been surprisingly warm.  Last year the river was frozen solid.  It was over  40 degF yesterday.  After a week of meetings. hotels, and long flights, I needed to get on the water.

It was very windy and grey.  Paddling was hard as the winds were out of the west at over 20 knots.  I have left blue Persian waters for the grey-brown river.

I headed away from the main channel and around The Crescent Islands.  There were Canadian geese and mallards about.  I came across a few mallards that seemed to stay near the shore.  But something caught my eye.

The ducks were seemingly nonchalant . . .

. . . but I noticed a black cat watching them.

I was expecting a normal paddle, but saw something unexpected.

Moments later a large splash occurred in the tiny channel between the Crescent Islands.  I'll never know what it was.

Though it has warmed, the turtle marsh was still iced-in.

A large tree had fallen in the river near the aspen stand.  I don't know if the current or the coming ice will remove the tree.  It is in the main channel, so I know the canal-way folks will need to clear it in the Spring.

The birds seemed resigned to stay in the water out of the wind.

I turned around.  I hardly needed to paddle as I had a strong steady wind to my back.  Overhead I saw a few seagulls cruising through the sky.  They fly about sensing tiny differences in wind and automatically finding the optimum way through the air.

I held my paddle aloft.  I keep my paddle blade feathered, so I can increase the relative surface area on each side by rotating the paddle handle.  I would feel the wind against the paddle and be able to slightly change which side I wanted to be pushed from by rotating the paddle shaft.  Not as graceful as the gulls, but I was able to get a free ride.

I came back by white birch island and paddled in the shallow channel between it and the crescent islands.

The wind was strong and steady.  I could feel the cold soak into my back.

I was expecting a predictable paddle, but even to the end I was surprised.  Just across the river from our dock was a white domesticated duck.  I wasn't expecting to see one on this stretch of the river.  I watched it for some time.  It would paddle around, go ashore, go back in the river, go back ashore.  For some reason a part of me felt like it was lonely . . .

I dragged the kayak back to the garage.  Not sure when I will get a chance to paddle again.